Resumo O uso de gorduras com baixo ponto de fusão é atraente para a indústria de alimentos, pois contribui para melhorar as características de textura, cor e estabilidade dos alimentos. Essas gorduras são obtidas a partir de óleos vegetais por meio de processos como hidrogenação ou interesterificação. No entanto, o processo de hidrogenação parcial leva à formação de gordura trans. Em diversos países, vêm ocorrendo ações no sentido de eliminar a presença do ácido graxo elaídico (C18:1t) dos alimentos industrializados. Esse ácido graxo trans e o ácido graxo saturado palmítico (C16:0) são comprovadamente aterogênicos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a composição de ácidos graxos de 39 tipos de alimentos comercializados no Brasil, incluindo biscoitos, salgadinhos, bolachas, macarrão instantâneo, sanduíches e pizzas congeladas, mistura para preparo de alimentos, pipoca de micro-ondas, margarinas, requeijões e massa de pastel. Os lipídios foram extraídos, e seus FAMES- Fatty Acid Methyl Esters, identificados por cromatografia gasosa. Os ácidos graxos encontrados em maior quantidade foram oleico, linoleico e palmítico, enquanto os ácidos graxos trans foram detectados em 51,3% das amostras. Por outro lado, em alguns alimentos a gordura trans foi reduzida, mas foram observados aumentos no teor de ácido palmítico (C16:0), justificáveis pela adição de óleo de palma e de seus derivados, que podem ser usados em misturas interesterificadas ou podem compor diretamente formulações de alimentos industrializados, mesmo sem interesterificação. Governos e organizações em prol da saúde humana devem atentar para o fato de que o uso de ácidos graxos aterogênicos não é uma alternativa saudável. Os consumidores devem, portanto, ser alertados para o risco do consumo de alimentos contendo essas gorduras, até que as indústrias de alimentos sejam proibidas de utilizá-las ou encontrem alternativas mais saudáveis para a fabricação dos alimentos.

Abstract The use of fats with a low melting point is attractive to the food industry, as it contributes to improving the texture, color and stability characteristics of the food. These fats are obtained from vegetable oils through some processes such as hydrogenation or interesterification. However, the partial hydrogenation process leads to the formation of trans fat. In several countries, actions have been taken to eliminate the presence of elaidic acid, a trans fatty acid (C18: 1t) from processed foods. This trans fatty acid and palmitic acid, a common saturated fatty acid (C16: 0) are proven to be atherogenic. The aim of this work was to evaluate the composition of fatty acids of 39 types of commercialized foods in Brazil, including cookies, snacks, wafers, instant noodles, frozen sandwiches and pizzas, mixtures for food preparation, microwave popcorn, margarines, spreadable cheeses and pastry dough. The lipids were extracted and their Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAMEs) identified by Gas-Chromatography (GC). The fatty acids found in greater quantity were oleic, linoleic and palmitic acids; whereas the trans fatty acids were detected in 51.3% of the samples. On the other hand, when trans fast were reduced in some foods, it could be observed increases in the palmitic acid (C16:0) content. This high content of palmitic acid is justified by the addition of palm oil and its derivatives, which can be used in interesterified oil mixtures or can be directly used in industrialized food formulations, even without interesterification. Governments and organizations in favor of human health should be aware that the use of dietary fatty acids which compromise the atherogenic index is not a healthy alternative. Consumers should therefore be alerted to the risk of consuming foods containing these fats until the food industry is banned from using them or finds healthier alternatives for making food.

Thermophilic Bacillus sp. SMIA-2, produced protease when grown on apple pectic, whey protein and corn step liquor medium, whose concentration was varied from 3 to 10 gL-1, according to the central composite design 2³. The experiments were conducted in shaker, at 50 °C, 150 rpm and initial pH 6.5. The results revealed that the culture medium affected both, cell growth and enzyme production. After graphical and numerical optimization procedure, the enzyme production reached its maximum value at 30 h fermentation, reaching, approximately, 70 U protein mg-1, suggesting that this process was partially associated to the growth.

The effect of precursors on the anticancer alkaloid production by submerged fermentation using M. anisopliae 3935 was studied, according to complete experimental design 2² with three central points. The results showed that lysine was the most important variable, however, when both lysine and glucose were added to the fermentation medium, the alkaloid production reached, approximately, 17 mg L-1 after 120 hours of fermentation. Then, the scale-up of the process was carried out and these results were confirmed. Finally, 35 mg L-1 of alkaloid at 192 h were attained after increment of added aminoacid lysine.

Monoglycerides (MAG) are non-ionic surfactants, widely used in the pharmaceutical, food and cosmetic industries. Although MAGs are manufactured on an industrial scale by chemical glycerolysis of oils and fats, new developments in lipase catalyzed synthesis have been studied as an alternative to the classical method seeking to use clean technology and green chemistry. In this work, different methods such as glycerolysis, selective hydrolysis of fats and oils, and esterification of fatty acids or transesterification of esters with glycerol are presented. The properties and applications of the monoglycerides are also included in this review.

O presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar diferentes cepas dos fungos M. anisopliae e M. flavoviride ao respeito da sua capacidade de produzir um alcalóide anticancerígeno, por fermentação em frascos erlenmeyers usando três meios de cultura distintos. De seis cepas testadas, quatro foram capazes de produzir o composto de interesse, M. anisopliae 3935, PL57 e PL43 e M. flavoviride CG291, sendo que a maior concentração de alcalóide (aproximadamente, 6 mg.L-1) foi produzida pelo M. anisopliae 3935, contendo um meio constituído de extrato de farinha de aveia, glicose e DL-lisina a 26ºC e 200 rpm.

Six fungi strains (M. anisopliae 3935, 4516, 4819, PL57, PL43 and M. flavoviride CG291) were studied regarding their ability to produce an anticancer indolizidine alkaloid. The culture process was carried out in Shaken flask at 26ºC and 200 rpm using three different culture medium containing oat meal extract supplemented with glucose and DL-lysine or Czapek culture medium. The mycelial extracts produced by Metarhizium spp. cultures were directly submitted to electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) analysis and the highest alkaloid concentration (approximately, 6 mg.L-1) was reached when M. anisopliae 3935 was tested.